Flow to obtain it. 185 
packed in mosses of many descriptions, in cotton wadding, in 
flannel, in water, in gravel, in muslin, and many other substances. 
The work is by no means difficult, and when the principle is 
once understood and the requirements of ova have been sufficiently 
studied, a dexterous hand will soon become expert at their 
manipulation in large quantities. When a quarter of a million of 
eggs have been packed in a couple of hours a system is required 
in order to carry on the work. The eggs are packed in trays 
which are made of wood with a bottom of perforated zinc. 
One worker places a sheet of felted moss at the bottom of 
each tray, and upon it a piece of swansdown or fine netting. 
Another takes the eggs off the grilles in the hatchery, and carries 
them into the packing room, where they are deposited in bowls, 
on a bench near the packers. The eggs are so easily counted on 
the grilles that the exact number in the bowls is known. They 
are all measured as they are put into the trays, however, and the 
measure being ascertained by counting to hold a certain number, 
checks the count of the ova on the grilles, and prevents the 
possibility of any mistake. 
The eggs are transferred from the measure to the fabric in 
the packing trays, and by a stroke of the hand gently spread with 
the help of a heron’s feather. The tray is then handed to an 
expert, who picks out any blind or white egg, or a puny embryo, 
should such be discovered to have been overlooked when the eggs 
were picked over on the grille in the hatching box. This can 
only be done in the daylight, as it is impossible to detect the 
difference when eggs are packed during the dark hours. The 
layer is then covered with another piece of fabric, over which is 
placed a second layer of felted moss, which in its turn receives a 
sheet of fabric, and a layer of eggs. Three layers of ova, four or 
five sheets of felted moss and six egg cloths form the contents of 
each tray, and the trays are piled one on the top of each other 
as required, up to the number of eight, and these are placed in an 
inside case contained in a box of sawdust. They are usually 
lifted out of this case by means of a flannel band, which is passed . 
underneath them in packing. In this way a large number of eggs 
may be packed in a short time by either men or women. They 
should never be touched by the hand. 
